COVID-19 update (as @ 11/01/23)

We no longer have any special rules in relation to Covid-19. We provide the following information for any hirer who judges it appropriate to continue with infection prevention measures.

Anyone considering entering the hall for an activity carried on by one of our hirers should make their own judgement about whether it is safe to attend the activity. The organiser of that activity is responsible for determining what measures are practicable and appropriate in the context of the specific activity and you should refer to them to understand the measures they have put in place. Entry to the hall is only permitted on the basis that you understand and accept that Ninth Harpenden Scout Group has no liability for any infection that is alleged to have taken place at the hall.

Our contribution to reducing infection risks

The hall is wholly run by volunteers and they are not normally present at the hall, so we do not supervise hirers and there are only limited measures that it is practical for us to take that might help reduce the infection risk during hires. The following factors and measures may be relevant for users:

     •     Hands can be washed in the restrooms, which are right beside the front door.

     •     We have fitted air hand dryers so that hands can be dried without sharing towels. (Guidance from the government

            and the WHO is that air hand dryers will not spread infection.)

     •     We have also fitted air purifiers in the restrooms. They draw in air and kill viruses and bacteria in it. This will not

            eliminate viruses instantaneously, but it seems like a helpful contribution to reduce infection risk.

     •     We have fitted retainers to allow internal and external doors to be held open, so that door handles need not be

            touched by everyone. (For fire doors, the retainers will release if the fire alarm is triggered.)

     •     You are free to carry out activities in the grassy area in front of our hall, when the weather allows. Guidance

            suggests that transmission risks are much lower outside than inside. (Please clean the hall floor if this causes it to

            get muddy. Beware nails and ash in the area where we had our bonfire.)

     •     You can open doors, windows and roof windows, to maximise ventilation. But please turn the heating off

            if you do this.

     •     There is scope to operate a one-way system if a hirer judges it necessary.

     •     Those who wish to provide for distancing can use as a guide the markers on the floor of the main hall in a square

            5x5 grid, 2 metres apart. The hall dimensions allow 21 people to maintain a comfortable distance of 2 metres

            between them.

     •     The hall is cleaned overnight, but not between hires and not necessarily every day. Hirers may therefore judge it

            appropriate to carry out their own disinfection procedures at the start of their hire.